Procurement News Notice |
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| PNN | 351 |
| Work Detail | It started with a small fire. And it looks like it may end in a courtroom. A compressor in an air conditioner overheated and sparked a small blaze on the second floor mechanical room of the Kenilworth Lodge on May 11. The heat triggered a nearby sprinkler head and activated the hotel’s fire suppression system that extinguished the blaze. “Everything worked properly,” hotelier Robert Mueller said. The occurrence, as is common practice with fire incidents, sparked a fire inspection by the City of Sebring of the 100-year-old hotel the next day. That inspection, Mueller recalled, included a survey of an unfinished basement area below the hotel where fire officials found a “red tag” attached to a segment of the fire suppression piping. A formal report of findings of deficiency was issued along with a timetable for completion. “It was news to us,” Mueller said. It is there that the tale of the hotel, now condemned for occupation by the City of Sebring, diverges, and what has led to a lawsuit filed Friday by the hotel owners against Sebring Fire Chief Brad Batz, the City of Sebring and C-T Fire Protection Inc. Batz and other city officials say Mueller and hotel management have dragged their feet in addressing fire code issues. Mueller, and his management team, including Max Mueller, offer a much different account backed by a file of documents chronicling work contracts that show they were attempting to answer the fire department’s concerns prior to the shut down. “We called and called contractors,” the elder Mueller said. “When we did get someone to look at it they were not able to meet the chief’s deadlines. He just wouldn’t work with us.” The Kenilworth hired a firm to inspect and certify the fire suppression system following the initial complaints. Batz, in turn, granted an extension of 30 days to bring deficiencies into compliance with code on June 17, allowing for the Heartland Triathlon to continue uninterrupted. After the race, the work on the system commenced. “The company refused to give us a final report. The wouldn’t event give the fire department a final report,” Mueller said. “I requested a fire sprinkler system report from the fire sprinkler company regarding their documented deficiencies. The fire sprinkler company declined to give the report to the city, which is the authority having jurisdiction,” Batz wrote in a letter after an Aug. 3 inspection. Batz could not be reached for comment Friday. Batz, according to records, gave the hotel seven days to hire a contractor and file a report. Mueller claims he was also instructed to hire a contractor to wire the hotel with a new alarm system linked to the fire department. Contractors were hired for both tasks. “They just could not do the work in seven days,” Mueller said. “The engineer we had to hire said at bare minimum it would be six weeks before he could get a final report and installation plan,” Max Mueller said. The contractor, the Muellers said, asked to meet with fire officials one day after the seven day deadline. Batz, according to emails shared by the Muellers, refused the request for a one-day extension and proceeded to condemn the hotel to occupancy the next day. Kenilworth officials say many of the fire department’s findings have already been addressed. The city cited the hotel for ranges without exhaust hoods. The Kenilworth has removed the stoves in question, under Batz’s supervision, they claim. The city cited the hotel for using a screw jack to support a beam. The Kenilworth says the screw jack was part of a temporary construction project involving an office expansion. “It was a safety concern during the work and has been removed,” Maintenance Manger Ralph Negron said. Dryer ducts have been re-run out of the basement as well, Negron said, in answer to that city complaint. Plans, too, remain underway to help host the 34th annual Tour of Sebring over the Labor Day weekend. “We will still stage in the parking lot,” Max Mueller said. “We are doing everything we can to comply,” Robert Mueller said. “It not just hurts us. It hurts the city.” |
| Country | United States , Northern America |
| Industry | Construction |
| Entry Date | 02 Sep 2016 |
| Source | http://www.highlandstoday.com/hi/local-news/kenilworth-owner-continues-to-make-repairs-20160828/ |
